local milk is a journal devoted to home cookery, travel, family, and slow living—to being present & finding sustenance of every kind. It’s about nesting abroad & finding the exotic in the everyday. Most of all it’s about the perfection of imperfections and seeing the beauty of everyday, mundane life.

garlic ginger collard greens + eggs & feta

I didn’t anticipate a lot of things about the life I’m living now. I didn’t anticipate how happy it was possible to be or that work/life balance would flow naturally from that peace. I didn’t know I would ever be comfortable with another human being watching me brush my teeth. I didn’t know that I would plan a wedding. But more than all of that, I didn’t know how it would change my day-to-day eating habits. That was truly unfathomable. From the moment we met, I knew I wanted to be with him forever. I did not, however, know that I would be inspired to adopt a largely vegetarian diet. While I still identify as a conscientious omnivore, my daily life is now lived as a vegetarian. With, admittedly, the odd oyster thrown in. This dish is the epitome of our everyday food. Simple, seasonal, vegetarian, one pan, and fast—a southern take on Seussian green eggs that’s my personal favorite in a growing arsenal of vegetarian meals.

It’s so simple. Collards (found in such abundance at the farmer’s market this time of year) lightly sautéed in a cast iron skillet with ginger, garlic, shallot, and a squeeze of lemon. Season to taste. When the greens are wilted, you lightly fry farm eggs nestled in the greens atop small pats of butter (I’ve been making my own lately!) and top it all with a generous handful of crumbled Athenos feta. It’s savory vegetarian perfection that’s equally good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The way the creamy egg yolks and salty cheese mingle with the spicy ginger and garlicky, lemony strips of greens reminds me of pasta—the collards are perfectly toothsome and similar to the old stand-by, kale.

So for your next meatless Monday (or meatless everyday if you live a meat free lifestyle!), give this a try. If you wanted to make a heartier meal of it, use it to top brown rice, quinoa, or farro. I find no need to be ascetic, but being more and more mindful of what I put into my body while also allowing myself creature comforts and pleasure (hello, cheese!) has made me feel so much better. Feast day foods & cravings are what inspire so much of my work as a recipe developer, but I’m becoming inspired by what tastes good and makes me feel good. I’ll never break up with butter, but we might need to have a polyamorous relationship with coconut oil & flaxseed oil. Everything in moderation. Moderation is key to enjoying a colorful, dynamic culinary life. Easier said than done, but when meals like this make up the bulk of your intake, you can enjoy that one special meal so much more.

A southern vegetarian breakfast this is a quick, easy one pan meal that can be made with whatever greens you find at your local farmer's market. Hot sauce doesn't hurt it.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small shallot, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

2 bunches of collards, stemmed and chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

1.5 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup water or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon of butter, divided

3-4 eggs

1/2 cup crumbled Athenos feta

a few cracks of freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

In a large heavy skillet heat the oil over medium high. Add the garlic, shallot, and ginger along with the red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to medium low and saute until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add in half the collards and half the salt. Saute until starting to wilt and then add in the other half of the collards along with the rest of the salt. Continue to cook until wilted but still bright green. Stir in the lemon juice.

Increase the heat to medium high and stir in the water or broth. Make nests in the collards for your eggs. I usually do one per person. Divide the butter between the eggs and put a pat in each little nest you've made for the eggs. When the butter melts crack each egg into the hole in the collards and sprinkles the feta on top of it all. Simmer until the white is just set and the yolk is still runny. Remove from heat, crack some pepper over the top and serve hot!

36 thoughts on “garlic ginger collard greens + eggs & feta”

I love this combination and have eaten it frequently made with spinach. However, I adore collards and will try your recipe soon. I’m not a strict vegetarian, but I eat mostly vegetarian meals as well. I’ve never liked being categorized as one way or the other. It’s too limiting…religious wise..political wise….social wise or food wise. Thanks for a lovely post.

My sweetheart came into my life at a time where I was still undiagnosed with my immune disorder, so I was constantly changing up my diet in hopes that it would help my body feel better. This was made easier by having him as my partner. We would grocery shop together, cook together, eat together… it’s still a lovely ritual we share together.

Everything in moderation, that is my motto – though I don’t always practice what I preach, I do have to confess!! Especially when it comes to chilled white wine in Summer… I usually have this kind of thing – minus the eggs, I’m not an egg person – for lunch when both husband and son are craving hamburguers and rice or pasta. I usually add some spinach as well, with a little garlic and some good olive oil, it is such a treat!!http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/

How you make food this photogenic, I will never know, but I am going to attempt to reach this insanely high standard. This recipe sounds fairly doable, and I think I will try it in a few weeks. Hopefully it turns out as photogenic as yours does!

Oh man, oh man! I will take 800 of these right now!!! Such freaky timing, I just had asparagus and eggs done in a similar way last night. Totes going to be trying this one out sometime this week! Thanks for sharing 🙂

Oh, Sister…I know how you feel. It’s sort of unimaginable how good it can be, right? And “conscientious omnivore”, I like that (me too). Thanks for sharing this. We’ll definitely be trying it at our house and we’ll prep it with a wink at you two.

Beth, I’ve been reading your blog now for over a year and just wanted to let you know how happy I am for you! So happy you found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with! So congratulations on all of that.
Also, I love your recipes. They are amazing and I make them on a regular basis! Thank you for making me a better cook!

Beth, I can see your writing is changing as your habits and life change – it’s lighter, happier, more at peace. Previously it was more contemplative, dark and deep, but I like either way. Your photos are still as beautiful as ever, your joy is evident and I am so happy for you.